Make no mistake: The draft is no laughing matter — particularly the first time around for Hickey, who has waited a lifetime to finally get control of a war room.

After years as a top personnel assistant in Tampa Bay, Hickey is in the big seat for the first time. When the Dolphins go on the clock some time Thursday night — they have the 19th overall pick — it will be his voice alone.

“We’re prepared, we’re confident about this weekend coming up and we’re ready to go,” Hickey said.

How they plan to go about it, however, remains unclear. Hickey was intentionally vague when asked specifics about this year’s draft class, but did provide some detail about how the day will unfold.

The draft begins at 8 p.m. Thursday, but he expects to be in the office by dawn. Sleep will be elusive the night before, he suspects.

But when the Dolphins get their 10 minutes to make a selection, he expects the sailing to be smooth. Just a handful of people will be allowed in the war room.

“Most of the decisions have already been made,” Hickey said. “I’m a big believer in proactive decision making. The draft day should be calm.”

The team’s draft board, at least at the top, is already set, Hickey added. There could be some minor tweaks here and there, but most of the work is done. Next weekend, Hickey will pick players based on what he called “Dolphins value,” not need.

“This year’s need is next year’s surplus, and vice versa,” he quipped. “You want to build for the short-term, but you also want to build for the future.”

So the supposition that he will reach for an offensive tackle if the top four are already off the board — as expected — is probably wrong.

Although Hickey wouldn’t go into detail about much of anything Friday — including his thoughts on this year’s offensive tackle class — he reiterated that analytics have played a part in evaluating prospects.

His methodology is similar to the analytic services available on the Internet, but obviously with their own twist.

“We’ve always kind of used it on a smaller level,” Hickey said. “We’re looking to expand that. Analytics to me is a tool to aid in the decision-making. There’s a lot of data out there that we have access to that we’re looking at different ways to extrapolate that out to maybe help us in a decision, whether it’s separating two closely ranked players. It’s a tool.”

Still, the eye test will be the most important one, as has always been the case.

“We want talented players that help us win on the field, but we want good teammates, guys who will contribute to our community,” Hickey added. “Tough, strong, disciplined.”

Other takeaways from Hickey’s 20-minute briefing:

• The three Dolphins receivers coming off knee injuries — Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson and Armon Binns — “are doing well in their rehabs. I’m real excited watching those guys in the training room. They’re progressing well.”
• The draft’s two-week delay this year has had a benefit — it allowed injured players to work out who otherwise wouldn’t have been healthy, Hickey said.
• Hickey, who this week picked up the fifth-year option on center Mike Pouncey, said “we’re excited to have him back. ... He’s really excited about the future of this team and the 2014 season.”
• In other news, Koa Misi did not refuse a position change to middle linebacker, as was reported elsewhere, a Dolphins source said emphatically Friday.
• The Dolphins waived/injured offensive tackle Jason Weaver.